Alaska volcano triggers aviation alert

Aviation alert has been raised following an Alaskan volcano that has erupted several times since last year spewed an ash cloud up to 30,000 feet. The Bogoslof volcano erupted Saturday, sending ash over the Aleutians Islands, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) said.

The volcano sits under the flight path of many flights from Asia to North America and its ash cloud could adversely affect aircraft.

Aircraft are often instructed to fly around or over ash clouds, although in some circumstances air traffic has been grounded due to the hazards from airborne ash. In 2010 the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland caused the cancellation of flights around Europe for six days.

Bogoslof’s current eruption sequence started in December, according to the observatory. Its previous eruption events have lasted weeks, sometimes months.

The volcano is in the Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain that has erupted frequently in the past eight months has sent up another ash cloud, leading an agency to issue a warning to aviation. The agency issued a red, or warning, alert to aviation because of the ash cloud.